Page 19 of Benny

Weirdly, the space and silence Jordan gave him wasn't awkward, especially after his thoughts about her not wanting to be around him. He’d asked, she’d answered, and they’d moved on. Pressing her on it directly would just lead to more obfuscation. He remembered her stubbornness well. So he’d figure it out on his own.

But even with that, he felt absolutely comfortable and safe in her presence. It was like this afternoon, when she'd been working and he'd been researching. They'd fallen into the same kind of tableau now while they waited for their deliveries, with her at the dining room table on her laptop, and him on the couch, catching up on all the news he'd missed in the last year. She was humming again, and the sound almost lulled him to sleep until the doorbell rang.

Jordan checked the camera app before she stood and ushered Malone and Warren in, both men wearing delivery uniforms. Warren held out the cat carrier camouflaged as a large freezer bag. The top had been left unzipped, and the meowing from the interior was definitely pissed. "Your cat is an asshole," he announced unceremoniously. "She scratched the shit out of me."

Jordan grabbed the carrier and pulled a fluffy white cat out, snuggling her close. "Spot is not an asshole, she's just an inside cat, and not used to most men. Isn't that right, sweet pea?" she crooned.

The three men gaped at her for a beat, this battle-tested cop who'd seen war on international and domestic fronts. Who'd apparently gone undercover in an attempt to learn the identity of Las Vegas' newest cartel overlord. Yet here she was, cooing to a tiny ball of fluff who stared at all of them with a haughty gaze, now that she'd been released.

"You healed up just fine, right? No harm done," Jordan said, looking at Warren.

"Yeah," he grumbled, "but it hurt. Maybe Harper will kiss it and make it better, even if she can't see it."

"Spot scared him," Malone said with a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Made him yeep like a little girl until he saw how tiny she was. Then when he tried to cuddle her the claws came out."

"I'm going out for the next load," Warren said, casting a disgusted look at Malone. "Some brother you are."

Malone snorted and deposited his stash of grocery bags and a large box branded with a well-known meal prep company. When he opened the box, though, it was full of equipment. "The Devin Beck special," Malone announced. "I can't think of anything else you might need since you already brought a tablet and laptop. There are surveillance cameras in there, as well as jammers and all kinds of toys. We weren’t sure what you needed, so gave you everything we could get quickly. If you think of anything else, let me know and I’ll acquire it."

Benny got the impression most of the stuff in the box wasn’t exactly legal.

Warren walked in, pushing a hand cart. "This is everything for Spot, and the things from your apartment you requested." He turned his attention to Benny. "Clothes for you as well. Beth had them," he explained. "She couldn't get rid of them." He shrugged. "Guess that twin thing is legit."

Benny's heart turned over. Of course his sister had kept his things. Although he wasn't sure if they'd fit anymore. He'd lost a lot of weight during his captivity.

The two men shook his hand, then Jordan's, with Warren giving the six-pound cat a wide berth, making both Jordan and Benny snicker.

The laugh felt good and was no doubt what Warren had intended. He'd always been the chameleon of the group, the joker, Benny remembered, even though he'd seen more action than all of them combined.

When the front door was firmly closed, Jordan put Spot down and moved to the hand cart. "I'm going to put her food and litter in the laundry room," she told Benny. "I have the same setup at my place."

Benny grunted in agreement, and looked down at the cat, who was looking right back at him. She looked like that cat in the soft food ads, all fluffy hair and piercing green eyes.

He sat on the couch and, mindful of Warren's words, held out a hand for her to sniff. He'd never figured himself that much of a cat guy, but she was pretty, and hopefully not hungry for his blood.

She stepped forward as he heard Jordan banging around in the laundry area.

"Hey Spot," he said, crooning much like Jordan had. "Are you and I going to be friends?"

She delicately sniffed once, then leaped onto the couch, rubbed against him once, and curled up in his lap, purring so hard he felt the vibrations resonate through his body.

He froze, then ran a tentative hand down her back, making her purr even louder in response.

When Jordan walked out a moment later and stopped in her tracks, he shot her a smile. "I think she likes me," he said. Then he got a good look at Jordan's face. It looked like more than shock at her cat's behavior. It looked like she was going to break into tears.

She cleared her throat once, then twice. "Good. Good. It would suck if she didn't." Then she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water from the case the men had left.

Benny watched her carefully, only looking down when Spot batted at his hand, claws retracted, demanding attention. In the kitchen, he heard Jordan let out a tiny, shaky sigh.

~

The grocery driver showed up a few minutes later, much to Jordan's relief. She'd been puttering with the computers, then hauled their clothes into their respective bedrooms, since Spot showed exactly zero inclination for moving from Benny's lap.

Jordan should have known the cat would remember him. Would reclaim her most favorite place in the world--his lap. After all, he’d been the one to rescue Spot from the street.

The smell of rotisserie chicken was enough to make the cat move, and Jordan sectioned out the bird, piling dark meat on Benny's plate, along with mashed potatoes and mac and cheese. He needed protein, carbs and calories right now. Green stuff be damned. Well, with the exception of green beans with bacon, because that was a favorite of his as well.

He dove in, plowing through the food like a man on a mission while Jordan diced up some of the chicken and plated it for Spot. It'd been a traumatic day for all of them and their girl deserved it.